If you have some greater than nominal amount of yearly spend on travel (like $500, seriously) I highly recommend upgrading to the reserve right after your year

If you have some greater than nominal amount of yearly spend on travel (like $500, seriously) I highly recommend upgrading to the reserve right after your year end bonus (this will maximize your points). Better even if you get an upgrade bonus. You get $300 of the $450 back immediately after you spend it on travel and the extra points will be made back in weeks if not months if you spend on it even a little. I had the preferred for like 6 years because it was the cheapest card with no foreign transaction fees and after upgrading to the reserve this year I am kicking myself for having waited this long. The lounges are meh but the better insurance and more points are killer, plus the one time free global entry is a nice benefit as well if you don’t already have it.